The present invention relates generally to computerized systems and methods for monitoring the usage and efficiency of industrial equipment and, more specifically, to computerized systems and methods for monitoring the usage, efficiency, and productivity of air compressors.
Compressed air is used in everything from automotive repair shops, to house painting applications, to industrial manufacturing facilities. Compressed air powers the tools that are used to build homes and paint automobiles. Compressed air is used in the cleaning of facilities and equipment, and as a carrier of materials and products.
The costs and energy associated with using compressed air are often overlooked. Despite the fact that the natural resource component of a compressed air system is free to anyone who wishes to use it, there are still costs associated with using air for certain purposes. While compressed air usage may be a significant operating cost, the fourth highest utility cost after electricity, natural gas, and water, most industries simply consider compressed air usage as a fixed cost. However, compressed air costs may be monitored and reduced just as the costs associated with, for example, recycling, raw material usage, and energy usage, may be monitored and reduced.
Compressed air""s costs come with producing it in a compressor. Compressors require electricity to run them, tanks to hold the compressed air, hoses and valves, and a distribution system to move the air. By reducing the number of leaks in a compressor system, energy costs may be reduced while efficiency, performance, and productivity may be increased.
There is, accordingly, a need for systems and methods for monitoring compressed air usage, predicting compressed air usage, and for quickly gathering, formatting, and reporting compressed air usage data of a facility in order to optimize compressor efficiency. Efficiency is a measure of actual compressed air delivered to the system and the amount of horsepower required to deliver it. Productivity is measured as effective operation as measured by a comparison of production with cost, where cost is measured in terms of energy, time, and money. Productivity is defined as yielding results, benefits, or profits. The present invention meets these needs by implementing computerized systems and methods that allow a company to easily input production data and individual compressor related data and quickly obtain performance analysis results in order to maximize efficiency and reduce the costs associated with compressed air usage.
The present invention provides systems and methods for measuring the efficiency of compressed air systems in order to optimize that efficiency. The systems and methods of the present invention may be used by plant managers, engineers, etc. to measure the current state of their facilities"" air compressor systems. The present invention analyzes data, calculates compressor efficiencies, analyzes facility and shift productivity, and analyzes variance in the air compressor systems. The present invention ranks compressors for overhaul, provides strategies for optimizing distribution systems, and calculates potential savings based on decreasing variance in the systems and optimizing compressor efficiency and overall plant productivity.
The present invention provides systems and methods for monitoring the efficiency characteristics and performance statistics of an air compressor system, comprising, an air compressor system, an air compressor system monitoring module operable for receiving input data and sending results data, the monitoring module having an analyzer for analyzing input data relating to air compressor system operation and generating output data relating to air compressor system performance and efficiency, and a communications network operably coupled to the air compressor system and air compressor system monitoring module, the communications network operable for acquiring the air compressor system data and for communicating the air compressor system data to the air compressor system monitoring module.